Bitcoin (BTC) traded near $80,000 during early Asian trading hours, down approximately 0.76% over 24 hours, following the Federal Reserve’s decision to hold interest rates.
CoinMarketCap data showed a 24-hour trading range of approximately $79,607-$81,703 and trading volume of $26.45 billion.
On October 28, the Fed Open Market Committee (FOMC) voted 10-2 to maintain its benchmark interest rate range at 3-3/4 to 4 percent. Governor Lisa D. Cook and Cleveland Fed President Beth M. Hammack dissented, preferring to raise the target range for the federal funds rate by 1/4 percentage point.
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Policymakers described economic growth as strong, citing resilient spending and robust investment. However, inflation remained elevated, and the committee said further information would guide policy toward its 2% inflation goal.
Fed Chair Kevin Warsh expressed greater confidence in the inflation outlook during his press conference, Reuters reported.
The economy is pointing in the right direction. Is the economy running too hot? Is the economy running too strong? That isn’t the judgment of most of my colleagues, said Warsh.
Warsh argued that productivity improvements could support economic expansion with fewer price pressures, while existing interest rates were already making credit conditions tighter.
Meanwhile, Asian stocks weakened as investors mixed technology earnings and artificial intelligence spending. South Korea’s KOSPI fell 2.6%, while MSCI’s Asia-Pacific index outside Japan lost 0.7%, Reuters reported.
Financial Markets continued to price in roughly an 80% probability of a rate hike at the Fed’s December 8-9 meeting, with another increase in borrowing costs likely by March, Reuters reported.
Attention now turns to the U.S. inflation data for September. Economists expect a 0.3% monthly rise in the core measure of PCE inflation, up from a 0.2% gain the previous month.
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